Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card review: Great for travel and beyond

BANK OF AMERICA® PREMIUM REWARDS® BENEFITS

If you like a card that rewards your passion for travel and dining out, but you don’t necessarily want a strictly travel rewards credit card, the CardName is a great place to start.

The welcome bonus is 60,000 points, or the equivalent of $600, after you spend at least $4,000 in the first 90 days that the account is open. On an ongoing basis, you can look forward to unlimited two points for every $1 spent on travel and dining purchases and unlimited 1.5 points per $1 spent on all other purchases. There's also no limit to the points you can earn, and your points don't expire as long as your account remains open. Those points can be redeemed for cash back as a statement credit, as gift cards, or for purchases in the Bank of America Travel Center, deposited into eligible Bank of America accounts, or credited to eligible Merrill accounts.

While the flexible redemption options are certainly a perk, if traveling is your thing you're also sure to appreciate the numerous travel features associated with this card. For instance, you’ll save with up to $100 in an airline incidentals statement credit annually (more details on this below), as well as up to $100 in statement credit for your TSA PreCheck® or Global Entry application fee.

The card does carry a AnnualFees annual fee, however, the right person for the card will reap benefits that more than offset the fee.

Furthermore, if you happen to be a Bank of America account holder, your rewards earning gets substantially better. This card is eligible for the Preferred Rewards program with the bank. Through the program, customers who maintain a certain account balance across their eligible Bank of America or Merrill accounts will receive bonus cash back – anywhere from an extra 25-75% – on every purchase. If you qualify for the Gold tier of the Preferred Rewards program, for instance, making a $100 travel purchase will earn you the base 200 points (two points per $1 on travel) plus an additional 50 points for being a Preferred Rewards Gold tier client. If you do the math, that means you could earn up to 3.5 points per $1 on travel and dining purchases and up to 2.625 points per $1 on all other purchases if you qualify for the highest Preferred Rewards tier. Not a bad earning rate at all.

FEATURED CARD

 

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• Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
• $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
• Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
• Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth $900 toward travel.
• 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
• Access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select and up to $100 application fee credit every four years for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck®
• Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more
• Member FDIC

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Credit Needed:

Excellent

BANK OF AMERICA® PREMIUM REWARDS® AIRLINE CREDIT

Airline travelers can save up to $200 thanks to two statement credits offered by the CardName.

The first is the Airline Incidental Statement Credit. It provides a credit of up to $100 each year for expenses such as lounge access, in-flight services, seat upgrades and baggage fees. The credit is automatically applied to your statement after a qualifying purchase has been made.

Customers also get an Airport Security Statement Credit once every four years. This credit covers up to $100 of the cost of TSA PreCheck® or Global Entry. Global entry costs $100, so with this credit, it would be totally covered, and if you have Global Entry membership, you'll be covered for TSA PreCheck® as well. If you don't want Global Entry membership, you can apply for TSA PreCheck® which is $85, so again, the credit covers it, but if you can qualify for Global Entry you might as well apply for that instead since it gets you membership to both all for one fee.

BANK OF AMERICA® PREMIUM REWARDS® FOREIGN TRANSACTION FEE

The CardName has a lot of good perks for travelers, including no foreign transaction fees on purchases made abroad. Many cards charge around 3% on all foreign transactions, which might not seem like much, but can add up in a hurry if you travel internationally often.

Think about it this way: if you take your family of five on an international vacation, and budget $4,000, you'll end up spending an extra $120 just on foreign transaction fees. If you travel with the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® card though, that's money you'll keep in your pocket. So instead of spending $4,120 at the end of the trip, you'd stay in budget, only spending $4,000.

Especially if you're a frequent international traveler, this benefit has a lot of money-saving power.

BANK OF AMERICA® PREMIUM REWARDS® TRAVEL INSURANCE

CardName provides a number of valuable travel insurance protection benefits that can help make your trip more enjoyable, and offset or cover costs should your trip be delayed or cancelled or your baggage be delayed, lost or stolen.

Some of these benefits include:

• Trip delay reimbursement
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
• Baggage delay reimbursement
• Lost luggage reimbursement
• Travel and emergency assistance services
• Emergency evacuation and transportation coverage
• Auto rental collision damage waiver
• Roadside dispatch program

BANK OF AMERICA® PREMIUM REWARDS® POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES

The CardName offers some solid benefits, but those benefits are really best for those who travel and dine out often. If that doesn't sound like your lifestyle, you're unlikely to realize the full benefits of this card and you might even have some trouble offsetting the annual fee. Sure, you can still earn points and redeem them for cash back, but there are cards that don't charge an annual fee and feature higher rewards earning in other categories, like gas or groceries, and may be more your speed. As with any credit card, you'll want to honestly consider your spending habits and goals to determine if this card is best for you.

Plus, keep in mind that this card will truly perform to its full potential for existing Bank of America account holders who qualify for the Preferred Rewards program.

BANK OF AMERICA® PREMIUM REWARDS® CARDHOLDER SCORES

CardRatings conducts a survey annually to learn what actual cardholders think of their cards. Here are the results:

*Scores above reflect the results of surveys with actual cardholders. Full methodology below.

HOW THE BANK OF AMERICA® PREMIUM REWARDS® COMPARES TO OTHER CREDIT CARDS

Bank of America® Premium Rewards® vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred®

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Neither card requires its cardholders to have brand loyalty in order to reap the rewards of its benefits. Flexibility is key and both cards offer it with redemption, although the CardName will get you more bang for your buck if you redeem through Chase Travel℠ where your points are worth 25% more. That means that, although the welcome bonus rewards offers seem similar, Chase’s 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first three months is actually worth up to $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel, while the Bank of America welcome offer will get you the equivalent of $600 after your spend at least $4,000 in the first 90 days. The CardName also charges a AnnualFees annual fee.

Another thing to keep in mind is that your Ultimate Rewards points earned with the Preferred® card can be combined with Ultimate Rewards points you earn with other Chase cards in the program; therefore, if you already have a card in the Ink or Freedom families, you might be better off with CardName. Furthermore, Ultimate Rewards points don’t require brand loyalty to a particular hotel or airline, BUT Chase does partner with several airline and hotel loyalty programs to which you can transfer your points and possibly see their value increase dramatically.

Bank of America® Premium Rewards® vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve®

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Although they both award points and travel credits, the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® card and CardName have significant differences.

Chase Sapphire Reserve® is one of the best luxury cards available, but comes at a high cost: AnnualFees annually. Though pricey, the card offers a number of valuable perks such as $300 in travel credits, free lounge access, Global Entry and TSA PreCheck® fee reimbursement, and travel insurance that will cover up to $20,000 for a cancelled or interrupted trip. Plus, there are no foreign transaction fees and points are worth 50% more when redeemed for travel through Chase Travel℠.

If you can't justify the price tag for the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, the Bank of America® Premium Rewards® card is a solid choice. Its annual fee is much lower, and you receive $200 in travel credits as well as travel insurance protections.

While both cards offer nice point bonuses for new cardholders, be aware that these points have different spending requirements and values. To earn the 60,000-point welcome bonus for the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you'll need to spend $4,000 on purchases within three months of opening your account. The 60,000 points you receive have a value of up to $900 when redeemed through Chase Travel. The 60,000 points offered by Bank of America® Premium Rewards® have a $600 value, but you only need to spend at least $4,000 within the first 90 days to receive them.

As far as ongoing rewards goes, the Reserve® card earns 5X total points on flights and 10X total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually; 3X points on other travel and dining; and 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases.

Bank of America® Premium Rewards® vs. CardName

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The CardName is another Bank of America credit card that rewards your loyalty to the bank with rewards bonuses, and this one even allows you the flexibility to choose a category in which you'll earn the highest cash back rewards from among the following options: gas and EV charging station, online shopping/cable/internet/phone plan/streaming, dining, travel, drug store/pharmacy or home improvement/furnishing purchases.

With the Customized Cash Rewards card, you earn 3% back in a category of your choosing from the list above. You can change your category once each calendar month. You'll also earn 2% back at grocery stores and wholesale clubs on up to $2,500 combined spending in your choice category/grocery store/wholesale club purchases each quarter (then 1%), plus 1% back on all your other purchases.

Given that both travel and dining are 3% category options, you could structure this card to reward you similarly to how the Premium card works, but you won't be getting the airline fee statement credit or the Global Entry and TSA PreCheck® application credit. Importantly, you should also note that this card DOES charge foreign transactions fees: foreign_fee of each purchase while abroad.

Bank of America Preferred Rewards clients can also receive a 25-75% cash back bonus on each transaction depending on your tier with this card.

The CardName card also features a welcome offer: Earn a $200 online cash rewards bonus after you spend $1,000 on purchases in the first 90 days of account opening.

IS BANK OF AMERICA® PREMIUM REWARDS® A GOOD CARD?

The best applicant for the CardName is a person who budgets their money wisely so as to reap the benefits and not waste them. This person will enjoy traveling and dining out and seeing their points grow just for using this card for everyday purchases. The perfect cardholder will not have one brand of hotel or airline to which they are loyal, but WILL hold an account with Bank of America – preferably one (or several) that qualify you for the Preferred Rewards program.

Survey Methodology: CardRatings commissioned Op4G in September 2023 to conduct surveys among 1,869 cardholders nationwide. CardRatings website analytics from Jan. 1, 2023-Aug. 31, 2023 were used to determine a selection of the most popular cards and additional cards were included to add survey breadth. Responses to each of nine questions were given on a scale of 1-10 and respondents' scores were then averaged under broad topics. To determine the overall score, responses from questions 1-8 were summed and the answer to "How likely are you to recommend this card to a friend, coworker or family member?" was double weighted. “Current Scores” reflect scores from the most recent survey (2023); "Past Scores" reflect scores from the 2022 survey.